In Australia these are known as Burdekin Ducks and they range across coastal tropical Australia from central Queensland through the Northern Territory to the Kimberley in Western Australia, they are also found in New Guinea. They were once found along the east coast as far south as north-east New South Wales but are now scarce south of Cape York Peninsula and are no longer present south of Maryborough, they’re not common here but you will see them sometimes browsing on mangrove flats.
They prefer the brackish waters of mangrove flats and paperbark tree swamps but will visit freshwater swamps, lagoons, and billabongs further inland during the wet season.
The diet consists mainly of mollusks, insects, sedges and algae.
Males and females look the same and form long-term pair bonds, they nest close to their primary food source, often in the hollow limbs of trees, and breeding is usually finished by June, depending on the duration of the wet season.
They are listed as a protected bird in all states of Australia and penalties exist for harming or disturbing them, with a prohibition on hunting habitat destruction is now the main threat to their numbers.